Charlie Nelson, retired MHS historical architect, died early Saturday morning, January 20, 2007. Charlie was hired as the first historical architect in the State Historic Preservation Office after that program was established in 1969. In his long tenure he left a lasting impact on the state’s built environment. He was a leader in the historic […]

I have proposed to my board that we prepare a “History of Pope County” book for publication in 2016, our 150th year. I want to know what my colleagues think regarding portions of past county history books that were successful, most used, least important, should never be repeated, etc., as we launch into our book. […]

My curator position closes today, which has me thinking about the application process from the employer’s point of view. All I did was post it with MALHM, MHS, MAM, and email the description to a few others. I thought I would get graduating seniors applying for the job because of its temporary nature and relatively […]

The Chippewa County Historical Society would like to know if there are county museums who have fire alarm systems (on top of their regular alarm systems) in their museums. If so, can you give me an idea of the startup cost as well as the monthly costs. We would like to look into a system, […]

Hi everyone! Our museum had a board strategic planning retreat this past weekend. Among the issues we looked at was that of our name: the North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting is an unwieldy moniker, for sure. But aside from the issue of whether the words “North Star” appeal to the region […]

Jerome Thompson in Iowa sent a link to a New York Times article on privatizing historic house museums as private residences. The case highlighted is Carter’s Grove, owned by Colonial Williamsburg. The story shows that declining visitation due to lower travel costs and rising affluence affects the bottom line. What are the implications to “selling […]

In reading many of the newsletters from county and local historical organizations, I note some usual suspension of hours to get some major projects done. It would be great to have many of you tell us what you will be doing during the winter visitation doldrums. Or, does your visitation slacken at all this time […]